With trance-inducing guitar meditations and soulful vocals, Esy Tadesse opens up an evocative journey into Ethiopian musical traditions.
Behind the artist name we find Etsegenet Mekonnen, who is based in Los Angeles but was born in Addis Ababa. Her Ethiopian roots unfold on her album Ahadu from 2024. Here, she is joined by Grammy-winning producer Kibrom Birhane, whose flair for creating arrangements that fuse Ethiopian roots and jazz comes through strongly. But Esy Tadesse's electric guitars, slow grooves and chanting vocals also make connections to both West African desert blues and almost soul-inspired progressions where the guitar is accompanied by both warm organ tones and cosmic flute playing.
The album's songs are structured as a journey through the scales of traditional Ethiopian music - the so-called qignits. Through the immersion, a glowing presence emerges that the listener can't help but be drawn to.
We’re looking forward to sinking into Esy Tadesse's Ethiopian meditations when she performs her first ever Danish concert at this summer's Roskilde Festival.
